I was running through McDonald’s with just enough time to grab a burger between client engagements. A little boy walked into the store from the play area with his father. The boy noticed the big screen TV in the corner of the dinning area – it was playing highlights from the weekend’s NFL games. The boy sauntered over to the big screen, stood there for a minute then waved his hand as though he was erasing the screen and declared, “Boring – boring.” Apparently satisfied with his verdict he walked out of the store with his dad.
I thought about the several times I have wanted to do the same thing in poorly run meetings. Like the young man in McDonald’s I want to wave my hand and declare, “boring – boring” when I see any of the following practices. And then I want to walk out and go back to work.
Boring practice 1: calling a meeting without a purpose and being unprepared. I don’t mind getting together with you for lunch or after work to shoot the breeze but don’t pull me away from my team to sit in a room without a purpose. My mind simply backs up with all the tasks I need to complete before the end of the day, end of the quarter, end of the year etc. Give me an agenda that differentiates between information you want to give, decisions that need to be made, and brainstorming we need to do to set direction to face the unexpected.
Boring practice 2: calling for people to give reports on data we all read prior to the meeting. Expect people to be ready – this will save a lot of time. However, be sure you specify what you want people to know before every meeting and how we will use it to get things done. Most the companies I have been a part of go to great cost to have the right dashboards, data and instant reports. Make meetings an opportunity for your team to use their unique data sets to highlight various perspectives of a decision. Don’t use meetings to rehash by reporting on data everyone already has access to.
Boring practice 3: asking for opinions as a prelude to telling us what we are going to do. If you need to pull us together to give a directive just give the directive and some context for it. Don’t ask for opinions if you don’t plan to alter your decision (because you have already made a decision). On the other hand if you have options in mind and want some feedback on them ask away – need help in how to do this? Watch reruns of Star Trek to see how captain Jean-Luc Picard pulled feedback from his line officers. Then have everyone watch the same Star Trek scene to see how to give feedback. (There are other options but as a Trekky since the 60s I like Jean-Luc.)
Boring practice 4: rambling on about the need for employee engagement without providing an opportunity for feedback. Seriously any time I hear leaders complain about the lack of employee engagement I simply want to record the session – then play it back with the understanding that I am about to let them hear why the reason for poor employee engagement. If you see me in the room with my Recorder Pro app ready to go you will know why.
Boring practice 5: announcing new policies destined to needlessly hamper the productivity of every department because one person won’t exercise common sense. Do you really need to hide behind a policy to correct the misdeeds of one or two employees? My favorite example of this is when the company pulled back all its company issued credit cards because one sales person could not seem to complete their usage reports. We all had to pull cash advances for our travel – it was a nightmare. Go yank the chain of the offender don’t penalize your peak performers.
Boring practice 6: showing us a power point slide presentation containing 45 slides with 8 pt font and then reading each slide. Please learn how to give a presentation. There are plenty of self-study helps on the internet. Just because you just stepped into your new CEO role or president role doesn’t mean you are exempt from developing better communication skills. You have not arrived – you have just started your journey. A little humility and a learning posture will go a long way.
Boring practice 7: arguing with your department’s nemesis while blaming them for your inability to meet your goals. I have sat in meetings almost as entertaining as an MMA fight. Two Vice Presidents went after each other like fighting cats. Unfortunately our employees were not amused they were filled with anxiety. The result of the VP rant was that the employees quick offering their insights and became siloed from one another across departments. If you need to have one of those intense conversations do it off-line.
Boring practice 8: announcing the time limitations of the meeting then going over the allotted time to discuss the need for discipline in execution. This is not hard to understand. If you are the exception to every rule you propose then everyone will follow your example. Then if you don’t like how things are going it is strongly recommended you look in the mirror for the reason things are becoming FUBAR. (If you don’t know what the acronym stands for ask one of the more experienced managers in the plant or office.)
Boring practice 9: introducing a consultant who then spends 45 minutes trying to convince us of his qualifications. The better approach is simply to engage your qualifications by leading the meeting, or exercise, or training. Please vet your consultants – work with them so that they don’t violate boring practice 1.
The bottom line is that leaders should treat people like they have the insight, wisdom, and drive for mastery that makes for an enduring great company or organization. Expect people to work at their best. Reward the top performers. Discipline the poor performers. Have fun. Make 2014 a year of superior vision, inspiration and execution – don’t be boring.
Don’t Be Boring
I was running through McDonald’s with just enough time to grab a burger between client engagements. A little boy walked into the store from the play area with his father. The boy noticed the big screen TV in the corner of the dinning area – it was playing highlights from the weekend’s NFL games. The boy sauntered over to the big screen, stood there for a minute then waved his hand as though he was erasing the screen and declared, “Boring – boring.” Apparently satisfied with his verdict he walked out of the store with his dad.
I thought about the several times I have wanted to do the same thing in poorly run meetings. Like the young man in McDonald’s I want to wave my hand and declare, “boring – boring” when I see any of the following practices. And then I want to walk out and go back to work.
Boring practice 1: calling a meeting without a purpose and being unprepared. I don’t mind getting together with you for lunch or after work to shoot the breeze but don’t pull me away from my team to sit in a room without a purpose. My mind simply backs up with all the tasks I need to complete before the end of the day, end of the quarter, end of the year etc. Give me an agenda that differentiates between information you want to give, decisions that need to be made, and brainstorming we need to do to set direction to face the unexpected.
Boring practice 2: calling for people to give reports on data we all read prior to the meeting. Expect people to be ready – this will save a lot of time. However, be sure you specify what you want people to know before every meeting and how we will use it to get things done. Most the companies I have been a part of go to great cost to have the right dashboards, data and instant reports. Make meetings an opportunity for your team to use their unique data sets to highlight various perspectives of a decision. Don’t use meetings to rehash by reporting on data everyone already has access to.
Boring practice 3: asking for opinions as a prelude to telling us what we are going to do. If you need to pull us together to give a directive just give the directive and some context for it. Don’t ask for opinions if you don’t plan to alter your decision (because you have already made a decision). On the other hand if you have options in mind and want some feedback on them ask away – need help in how to do this? Watch reruns of Star Trek to see how captain Jean-Luc Picard pulled feedback from his line officers. Then have everyone watch the same Star Trek scene to see how to give feedback. (There are other options but as a Trekky since the 60s I like Jean-Luc.)
Boring practice 4: rambling on about the need for employee engagement without providing an opportunity for feedback. Seriously any time I hear leaders complain about the lack of employee engagement I simply want to record the session – then play it back with the understanding that I am about to let them hear why the reason for poor employee engagement. If you see me in the room with my Recorder Pro app ready to go you will know why.
Boring practice 5: announcing new policies destined to needlessly hamper the productivity of every department because one person won’t exercise common sense. Do you really need to hide behind a policy to correct the misdeeds of one or two employees? My favorite example of this is when the company pulled back all its company issued credit cards because one sales person could not seem to complete their usage reports. We all had to pull cash advances for our travel – it was a nightmare. Go yank the chain of the offender don’t penalize your peak performers.
Boring practice 6: showing us a power point slide presentation containing 45 slides with 8 pt font and then reading each slide. Please learn how to give a presentation. There are plenty of self-study helps on the internet. Just because you just stepped into your new CEO role or president role doesn’t mean you are exempt from developing better communication skills. You have not arrived – you have just started your journey. A little humility and a learning posture will go a long way.
Boring practice 7: arguing with your department’s nemesis while blaming them for your inability to meet your goals. I have sat in meetings almost as entertaining as an MMA fight. Two Vice Presidents went after each other like fighting cats. Unfortunately our employees were not amused they were filled with anxiety. The result of the VP rant was that the employees quick offering their insights and became siloed from one another across departments. If you need to have one of those intense conversations do it off-line.
Boring practice 8: announcing the time limitations of the meeting then going over the allotted time to discuss the need for discipline in execution. This is not hard to understand. If you are the exception to every rule you propose then everyone will follow your example. Then if you don’t like how things are going it is strongly recommended you look in the mirror for the reason things are becoming FUBAR. (If you don’t know what the acronym stands for ask one of the more experienced managers in the plant or office.)
Boring practice 9: introducing a consultant who then spends 45 minutes trying to convince us of his qualifications. The better approach is simply to engage your qualifications by leading the meeting, or exercise, or training. Please vet your consultants – work with them so that they don’t violate boring practice 1.
The bottom line is that leaders should treat people like they have the insight, wisdom, and drive for mastery that makes for an enduring great company or organization. Expect people to work at their best. Reward the top performers. Discipline the poor performers. Have fun. Make 2014 a year of superior vision, inspiration and execution – don’t be boring.
Toxic Leaders Spurn History – Bad Leaders Hide Behind It
Is toxic leadership the inevitable norm? Do people just need to suck it up and endure the chaos until they can retire? Are alternative ideas about healthy leadership possible to carry out or are they illusions that distract people from being productive? The story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt has important insights about leadership. Two leaders (Moses and Pharaoh) engage in competing agendas that launch far-reaching consequences. The narrative presents a dichotomy between good and bad leaders that defines how to approach the complex tasks of leadership in a different way. Pharaoh got it wrong from the start of the narrative. In his case the story is a progression that starts from a biased opportunism that accelerates to self-destructive hubris that left him at a strategic disadvantage. Moses on the other hand wins yet enters the uncharted experience of birthing a nation. Moses has to grow as a leader or face a future no different from what characterized Pharaoh.
Over the next several articles I will investigate the behaviors of Pharaoh. What characterizes a toxic leader and what insights can be gleaned about the motivations? The answer to this question will help decide the possibility of change for any leader. So here is the first lesson – toxic leaders spurn history – bad leaders hide behind it.
Pharaoh is introduced in the Exodus story as a leader who did not know Joseph. The history behind Joseph explained the contemporary presence of the Hebrews and their privileged location within the nation. Joseph had saved Egypt during a time of severe famine with his prophetic insight and his administrative skill. Pharaoah’s predecessor honored Joseph’s contribution to the survival of the kingdom by providing a place for his family (the Hebrews) to live and thrive.
However the new Pharaoh’s fear obscured his historical perspective – he viewed the Hebrews as a threat to his power. It is one thing to hide behind history as a reason to avoid making mistakes. Such a posture is a fast rode to mediocrity. However, Pharaoh takes a more radically ignorant path. The threat presented by the Hebrews was rooted in nothing more than the fact that Hebrews were not Egyptians. In the void of Pharaoh’s lack of historical grasp (that explained why these foreigners were in the country and their contributions to the nation’s thriving existence) ethnocentrism rushed in and created a narrative of fear and mistrust. Pharaoh rewrote the history of the nation in his actions and the outcomes were not good.
Who is writing the history of your organization and on what foundation are they writing it? The narrative determines the culture of the organization and the culture determines the values and behaviors. It is odd that something went missing in Pharaoh’s education and in his development. What happened? Bad leaders don’t work in a vacuum they work with the permission (either implied or overt) of their followers. Jean Lipman-Blumen’s work outlines this uncomfortable reality. She writes:
…What are the forces that propel followers again and again, to accept, often favor, and sometimes create toxic leaders? Isn’t it high time we come to grips with why we usually let toxic leaders mistreat us and depart when it suits their purposes? …Still, the majority of followers stay the course, many because the barriers to escape seem much too strong, be they financial, political, social, psychological, or existential – or, worse yet, some overwhelming combination of these formidable obstacles.[i]
Don’t ignore or dismiss Lipman-Blumen’s point. As followers we have a responsibility toward leaders. If we implicitly or overtly allow bad leaders to continue in their power infused invectives of bad behavior then we must ask ourselves what is it we think we get from these leaders and what would really happen if we said, “no” to them? Perhaps Pharaoh had eliminated the bold followers who disagreed with his unique views. We don’t have that part of the story. What we do have is the insight that for tyrants to succeed they have to divest themselves from the encumbrance of history to rewrite history for their own support and sell it as a destiny. Pharaoh succeeded at this and turned the tables on the Hebrews first oppressing them then enslaving them. When you see a leader who is ignorant of history consider it a challenge to help them see from a larger perspective. If he or she is not open to understanding the history of the organization specifically and has little appreciation of history generally then in the words of Edmund Burke, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
Pharaoh rewrote history to reposition the Hebrews in society. He framed their existence as a threat to the well-being of the nation. He initiated structures to limit the threat. Finally he oppressed them to maximize a benefit to the nation at minimal cost. How is labor relations characterized in your organization? A connection exists between the value a leader places on history and the way they ultimately treat people. What kind of leader are you? Are you a student of history or are you writing your own history? The answer indicates the trajectory of your leadership.
[i] Jean Lipman-Blumen. The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians – and How We Can Survive Them. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005), 24.
Executive Coaching
Here’s a chance to talk with me directly about coaching and leadership development.
The Advice We Remember
I am always intrigued by what my clients and students remember. People hear what they need to hear and it sticks with them throughout life. So, I asked a group of leaders what the most memorable thing they had ever heard from a mentor. This is what they said.
“You are so you … not ‘typical’, not ‘standard’ but very authentic. That is why you got the job, stay that way and give the company but most of all the team that breeze of fresh air.” So often leaders change just to “fit in”, forgetting themselves and who they really are … Wendy Hagenbeek-Jacobs, Teamleader bij Scania Parts Center Opglabbeek
“The visionary leader must also be a missionary, extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to help others.” Govind Bharadia, Facilitation, Coaching & Training – Free lance
“When you’re up to your ass in alligators and it looks like you’re in for a beating, go crazy! Nobody knows how to deal with a crazy cop and that might just give you the time you need.” Hey, Mr. Wheeler requested the most memorable or meaningful, not insightful. Believe it or not, it actually worked for me once when I was being attacked by a group of individuals, trying to pull me out of my police vehicle. I went crazy and they backed up, just enough for me to escape. Who would have thought!”
Michael McTaggart, Policing, Investigations, Security, Training, Management
“Mike, chose your battles wisely. You can lose a battle and still win the war. Also, you can win the battle and lose the war.” Mike Ausloos, Food Waste Recycling|Renewable Fuel|Biogas Digester
“Choose your own way, or someone else will do it for you.” Can Kaplan, Geliştirme Müdürü – Trakya Cam
“There is such a thing as a great team and a bad leader, but not a great leader and bad team.”
Andy Lloyd, Managing Director at process benchmarking ltd
“Success will never lower its standard to accommodate us. We have to raise our standard to achieve it. For every bird God provides food but not in its nest.” Gagan Mittal, Team Manager- ANZ Bank
“You have to ask for the order.” As a guy in sales, he knew that people needed to be asked to join in (or buy). So many times “nobody helps in church” because “nobody asked them to.” David Fletcher, Executive Pastor at First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton
“Don’t tell me you can’t do something, tell me what you need to get it done.” John Dix, Director of Organizational Development at Chartwells Schools
“Make your enemies become your friends.” Aysu Ugus, CIPM, B.Sc., Commercial Project Manager
“Whether you are running business or running family, never lose economic control.” ramesh Rameshrahi, Director
“Your reputation is just as important as your talent.” Karen LaGreca, Design and Color Specialist Home Furnishings Market
“Own your greatness.” Shereen van Schoor, Course Coordinator at The Red & Yellow School
“When I hear you preach, I want to hear . . . Rich Frazer. It took me 5 years to figure that one out.”
Richard Frazer, President at Spiritual Overseers Service International
“He told me a story about a fireplug: you know, a fireplug is one of those iron things in the ground where water pours forth for firefighting. The story was about a man who went by it every day and kicked it, everyday he grumbled about it, and it of course never moved. The moral: Some things are fireplugs. You can complain about them every day but they won’t change. Know when it’s a fireplug–don’t waste your energy and just go around it!!” Susan Foster, Master Certified Coach/Owner at Susan Foster Coaching
“The worst telling-off people get are the ones they give themselves.” “You need to have the smarts to learn from others mistakes, not wait until you make them yourself.” Richard Morris, Senior Consultant at MartinJenkins
“When you have to do something you must make yours better”. Carlos de Souza Teixeira, Chemistry Teacher at Secretaria da Educação
“You are allowed to make mistakes” Nikki Compton, Program Director at Spartanburg Mental Health
“It’s all about the people!” Gary Daniels, Plant Supervisor at Bertolini Inc
“Anyone not rowing in the same direction is slowing the whole boat down.” Timothy Kerby, Senior Manager Network Strategy, WCS
With a wave of her arm she said “Just let it go. Do not beat yourself up if something does not go exactly as you planned. Let it go and move forward.” Dr. William K. Mennen, Org Growth | Future Thinking at Idea Generation
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive!” “There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” (Howard Thurman with whom I and others spent a precious year at Boston U 1953-54.) Robert Crosby, Founder of Crosby & Associates and Leadership Institute Seattle
“Damn it Mickey. Slow down and enunciate I don’t understand a word your saying.” “Mickey if you want to get ahead, learn the game and play the rules. Only once you learn the game better; can you influence other people. Kicking and pounding on the door yelling that YOU SHOULD PLAY gets you no-where and everyone just thinks you are an asshole.” (From Jim Cardus, my father.) Michael Cardus, Org Development and Managerial-Leadership Expert
“What is most powerful and enduring (yet often invisible) is process. It shapes, alters, and even creates everything that exists or is done in this world.” Arthur Lerner, Principal at Arthur Lerner Associates
“Salary should not be the primary driver of your career. It is simply one piece to the overall puzzle.”
Terrence Williamson MBA, CQM/OE, CSQE, Scrum Master at GIS
“Success is about having a vision and seeing yourself there before you’re actually there. It also requires faith, faith to get you there.” Shea Porta, Program Coordinator at Naples Botanical Garden, Soil Scientist
I appreciate the accumulated wisdom represented in these pithy anchors of sanity. What do you remember? Don’t keep these to yourself tell the rest of us. You don’t know when something you say may alter the course of someone’s life and career for the better.
How to Get Noticed at Work in Your 20s
Kayla has written another gem. If you are just entering the workforce she has some great advice…if you have been around the workforce for a while it is still great advice. Check it out. How to Get Noticed at Work in Your 20s.
Fresh Resolve – Nothing New in 2014
My friends have asked what my New Year’s resolutions are. Chuck caught me on one of my bad days at the end of December and received a terse email from me that simply said, “Ask me in a week or so.”
I don’t know why the idea of making resolutions is so irksome this year. Typically I enter the year with a plethora of goals and usually execute on all of them. I have goals this year as well but none of them are new. It seems I set the bar pretty high last year and I am still working on last year’s resolutions.
This doesn’t mean I have not made progress but that I have not yet finished all I set out to do. So, perhaps my New Year’s resolution is best stated as I intend to finish well in 2014. So what is still open from last year?
I determined to play more often. I work hard and have worked throughout my career with great focus and a ferocious desire to learn new things and to prove myself. I don’t feel the need to prove myself any longer – the proof is in the results that travel along in my wake and it is these results that have taught me that often the most important things that happen, occur serendipitous to my drive. So, for me playing is leaning into that wondrous serendipity that pulls from a lifetime of insight, knowledge, and a growing presence with others.
I determined to write and publish a book on leadership. The manuscript is complete. One proposal has already been rejected (a common experience I hear) and another is ready to go out. I have other books to write so I really want to get the first one complete out-of-the-way – editing and rewriting are not my favorite activities.
I committed myself to develop leaders as a vocation. So, Leadership Praxis is up and running and I am in the throes of building a client base. I love coaching leaders. I get a kick out of seeing performance improve. I enjoy working with teams to help them discover how to work with greater effect and fun.
With Janice my wife we decided to travel more (hence the picture on this post of Janice and I in Ferndale, California goofing off). Too many good friends entered their golden retirement years only to have their plans cut short by cancer, heart attacks and other tragedies. So, Janice and I decided (while we save for retirement) to travel now and enjoy one another while we are healthy.
Finally, I felt the need to immerse myself in the Christian Scriptures. I had fallen out of the habit of reading through the Bible every year and so I took it back up. My approach is simple. I ask a question and then look for ways the Bible addresses it. This year the questions have to do with gender. In what way does the concept of imago Dei (the Image of God) express itself in male and female biology, perceptions, behaviors, and experience?
The sexual dimorphism (existing in two sexes – male and female) of humankind has always been intriguing to me. But the subject looms large in writing on leadership. Do men and women have biological limitations/strengths that either endorse or contradict their ability to lead? Does brain structure determine gender behaviors and leadership potential? Is gender solely a social/cultural/theological construct? I will explore these questions in 2014.
So, I continue in the resolutions I made in 2013. Oh wait, there is one thing I can think of that I resolve to do in 2014 that I have not done before. I will go to a pizza parlor with some friends and convince them all that we need to dance to the music playing over the sound system while we wait for our pizza to arrive at the table so that we can laugh until it hurts – if you have ever seen me dance you know what will start the laughter. If you get a call to go with me to pizza, be ready and bring your phone to video the event.
Here’s to finishing well – let’s go get some pizza!